A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) is to be held into the deaths of two elderly nursing home residents.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has said it intends to hold a joint probe into the deaths of David Donnelly and Robert Thomson.
Both men were being looked after at the Lornebank Care Centre in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
David Donnelly, aged 83, died at Hairmyres Hospital on 14 January 2019. Robert Thomson, aged 99, died at Hairmyres on 2 March 2021.
COPFS said a Preliminary hearing will be held on 19 July 2024 at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
READ MORE: Serial killer Peter Tobin inquiry to be held in September
Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on fatalities investigations for COPFS said: “The Lord Advocate considers that the deaths of David Donnelly and Robert Thomson occurred in circumstances giving rise to significant public concern and as such a joint discretionary Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held.
“The lodging of the First Notice enables FAI proceedings to commence under the direction of the Sheriff.
“The families will continue to be kept informed of significant developments as court proceedings progress.”
READ MORE: FAI to take place into North Lanarkshire man’s death
The purpose of an FAI includes determining the cause of death; the circumstances in which the deaths occurred, and to establish what, if any, reasonable precautions could have been taken, or could be implemented in the future to minimise the risk of deaths occurring in similar circumstances.
Unlike criminal proceedings, FAIs are inquisitorial in nature, and are used to establish facts rather than to apportion blame.
The Inquiry will explore the circumstances of both deaths, with an anticipated focus on missed opportunities in relation to the care and treatment of Mr Donnelly and Mr Thomson and the policies, guidance and systems at Lornebank Care Home.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here